Chapter 4: Meetings

"Does anyone know how long it's been since we first got pulled in here?" Candace asked suddenly.

Everyone looked up from their work. They'd managed to get to the river with no trouble from the tigers, and had spent the time since building a makeshift camp.

"No, I have no idea how long it's been." Phineas said. "Why?"

Candace hesitated for a moment before answering. "Well, it's probably been several hours at this point right?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not hungry."

Phineas was about to ask why that mattered when it occurred to him what Candace was getting at.

"I think I understand. Ferb and I have been in here for what seems like most if not all of an entire day, and we haven't eaten anything in that time period either. But I'm not hungry in the slightest, are you Ferb?"

The green haired boy shook his head.

"What does that mean for us exactly?" Buford asked.

Baljeet's eyes went wide as he came to the realization.

"It means that we are in a type of stasis. If we were not hungry when we came to this place, we will not be as long as we're here."

"So we're not going to be anything more or less than what we were when he came here." Isabella said. "We don't need to worry about food or water since we can't get hungry or thirsty. All things considered, we probably can't die at all while we're here."

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it?" Candace asked.

"Ordinarily perhaps, but now what it means is that if we really are stuck in here for the rest of our lives…" Baljeet said.

"Then we're stuck in here forever." Phineas finished.

Buford was the first to break the long silence which followed.

"Then why are we bothering to make a camp? Why bother do anything in here? We can't get out of this place, not even death will set us free. Why go on with anything?"

Phineas answered. "Because we choose to. We can't just sit around and do nothing for all of time. There's got to be something we can do, a project to work on to pass the time. We can't give in to despair."

"That is exactly correct"

Everyone jumped at the sudden voice, as the speaker stepped into their midst. He was a tall man, well dressed in a white turtleneck and suit jacket.

"Um, who are you?" Isabella asked.

"Sorry I did not mean to startle you." The stranger said. "My name is Walter, Walter Dean Greer."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Greer, I'm Phineas Flynn." Phineas said. The others also introduced themselves.

"Mr. Greer, if you do not mind me asking, how did you end up in this world?" Baljeet asked.

"Well, it wasn't really intentional. I'm a scientist you see, and one day my experiments went wrong and… well, I'd rather not discuss it. It's been so long and it's not exactly a pleasant memory."

"We understand" Phineas said. "But what did you mean when you said that I was 'exactly correct?'"

"Oh yes, what I meant was that you had the right attitude. It is vitally important to keep some kind of central goal or focus when in this world, to keep the Cold at bay." Mr. Greer replied.

"The Cold?" Baljeet asked.

"Yes, the Cold. You see, this world and everything in it doesn't exist in any timeline or alternate dimension. We unfortunate souls have been completely removed from the multiverse. And here in the space between realities, everything starts to decay. A freezing entropy that consumes all, that is what the Cold is. The longer you are here, the more it pulls at you, the more it pulls you apart. Unless you counter it, the Cold will slowly but surely cause you to fade into nothingness."

"You said we can counter the Cold, how?" Phineas asked.

"By keeping yourself focused. It takes powerful determination to survive here, only the most determined of souls could hope to last, much less look for escape." Mr. Greer said.

Phineas was silent for a moment, then said. "Well, if it's determination that's required then we have plenty of it here. And if it's a project that's required, we're no strangers to that either. We'll get out of here no matter how long it takes, every last one of us. Mr. Greer, do you want to help us?"

Mr. Greer smiled. "Of course."

"Great, let's get started."

"Started with what?" Baljeet asked.

"With getting out of here. And I think I know how we can do it."

Gretchen, Adyson, and Ginger stood outside the café door, some more patiently than others.

"Why exactly are we waiting around outside when the person we're supposed to be meeting is already inside?" Adyson asked.

"Because I told them we would walk in the door at exactly 8:16. Temporal precision is important in this matter." Gretchen said.

"What did she say?" Ginger whispered to Adyson.

"Never mind. Well Gretchen if 8:16 exactly is the mark then how long is that?" Adyson asked.

"Three, two, one, now."

Gretchen opened the door and quickly scanned the room for their contact. She finally spotted them at a table near the back wall.

"My friend, it's been too long. How have you been?" Gretchen asked.

"I've been alright these past few months, and you?" they replied.

"Oh, I've been better. That's why I wanted to meet on such short notice." Gretchen said as the girls took their seats. "Oh, this is Adyson Sweetwater and Ginger Hirano."

"Pleasure."

"Same."

"So Gretchen, what's going on? You seem, very troubled."

"Well, it's the timeline. Earlier today there was a timeloop that kept repeating over and over again. Recently the loop stopped, but I fear permanent damage has been done." Gretchen said.

Adyson and Ginger exchanged confused looks, but Gretchen clearly had her friend's undivided attention.

"What sort of damage?" they asked.

"Things started to disappear as the loops went on, and people forgot all about them like they never existed. I mean, look at these place settings; I swear there is supposed to be a third type of utensil, called a spoon. But soon, people started disappearing. I don't know exactly how many, but several of my friends are gone now and I'm the only one who remembers them."

Gretchen's friend was silent for a few moments.

"I think I know someone who may have experienced what you're describing. He would know more about it than I would."

"Can we meet with him? I don't know how long it's been since these people disappeared and we should really hurry." Gretchen said.

"Of course. I was going to see him after this anyway, and you're right this needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. We should go right now in fact."

"Alright, let's go." Gretchen said.

As they stood to leave Ginger asked Gretchen's friend a question she'd been wondering for a while now.

"Hope you don't mind me asking, but why do you keep your eyes closed all the time?" she asked.

"Oh it's just more comfortable like that. I can see just fine anyway." they replied.

"Ok. Also, what is your name?" Ginger asked.

"Frisk."